An interesting press release came from Quantum International the other day. Quantum appears to be an investment firm specializing in various robotic technology. In their press release they talk of USC Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis's work in developing large-scale concrete 3D printers capable of 3D printing whole houses. They say:

Quantum International Corp. (OTCBB: QUAN) is investigating commercialization of home-building robots that could soon revolutionize construction-and the best part is, the technology already exists.

Well, not exactly. We've seen a couple of experiments with 3D printed concrete and it may not quite be ready for prime time yet. We suspect the first uses of 3D printed concrete will be for building adornments, like specially shaped stairways or sculptures, rather than entire buildings. Evidently Quantum CEO Robert Federowicz agrees:

We envision this technology augmenting rather than replacing the traditional construction industry, potentially creating an entire new sector of jobs engineering, assembling, transporting and maintaining these robots.

Nevertheless, it would definitely be interesting if one could build entire structures using this technology as designers would then have more ability to create unusual and radically different buildings.

Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has been writing Fabbaloo posts since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!

Fabbaloo is a daily online publication focusing on the 3D print and additive manufacturing industries. We provide deeper analysis of developments in current and future technologies as well as corporate matters. If there’s something happening in 3D technologies, especially FDM, SLA, SLS and Stereolithography, we’ll have an opinion about it.